I hope this will be of some help to anybody interesting in fish keep I know theres a few of us.
DISCLAIMER: By no means is this the law for fish keeping this is just a guide on how to keep fish based on my experience as a fish keeper and an aquatic store assistant for 6 years.
Right so basically I’ve decided to write a basic fish keeping guide
(rather than do my coursework) this guide will be based upon the keeping of tropical and coldwater freshwater fish.
Hopefully What I will try and cover in this guide is:
• An idea about what type of tank to go for and thoughts about setting it up.
• The cycling of the tank (chemically).
• Choosing fish.
• General Maintenance and “cheats”.
Right so you’ve thought “I know I fancy myself some little fishes!” brilliant first let me say it’s a great fun and interesting hobby that lets you really go into it as far as you want to.
HOWEVER FISH ARE STILL PETS AND IF YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO LOOK AFTER THEM PROPERLY THEN PLEASE DON’T BOTHER!
The first few questions you’ve got to ask yourself are, how much can I afford in total? What size tank can I fit in my house? What type of fish do I want?
As with any type purchase you have to decide on how much you have to spend, this is entirely individual so I can’t really be specific here, however I will mention that generally tanks that come in kits (I.E. filters/lighting/heater included) will in general be cheaper than setting one up yourself and buying the bits separately, but the parts in the kits might not be brilliant, e.g. Juwel tanks are well known for the light units going as it’s a sealed unit however am yet to experience any of the new T5 “High-lite” units blowing.
A decision on what type of fish you desire to keep would also be helpful, the best way is to go look around a fish shop and see what fish you like. There has long been a myth that tropical fish are harder to keep than coldwater, it’s an old wives tale to be honest if anything I would personally say tropical are easier than cold water. Equipment wise:
• A tropical tank will require a filter, heater and light.
• A cold water tank will require a filter and light.
But remember it’s your tank get what you want.
Tanks
Ok so you’ve seen a tank you like the look of, great! However first find out what it comes with if anything. Does it have lighting/ a heater /filter?
Some good brands to look for are:
• Juwel
• Rena
• Aqua One
• Fluval
Now these four manufacturers all tend to make kit tanks, that come will pretty much all the equipment you will need to start up an aquarium. Lots of variety and styles of tanks out there these are just some good well known brands. Also as a side note try not to position your tank in direct sunlight as this will turn your water green will algae. The majority of the heaters round these days are all pretty good and for most tropical tanks a temperature of around 25 degrees Celsius is suitable. Filters come in a variety of shapes and sizes ranging from small air powered filters to externals. Air powered filters (under-gravel and sponges) tend to be for smaller tanks and are a good way of filtering a spawning tank however a power filter (i.e. pump containing sponges) either internal or external is probably easier for a beginner to maintain. Lighting generally comes in about 3 forms you have T8 bulbs (standard 1” diameter bulbs) T5 bulbs (half an inch diameter) and PLS bulbs (pins at one end) all have their advantages and disadvantages and can come in different spectrums to give different effects on your tank but I’m not going to go into that right now.
Plants
With regards to decoration this is again individual taste, personally I feel the natural look (i.e. like plants + rock and wood) looks the best. However if plastic plants are your thing then go ahead but be aware that they won’t absorb some excess nutrients in the water as live ones will. Most aquatic shops will stock a reasonable supply of aquatic plants but do be careful as to which ones you choose as they aren’t always “true aquatic” plants, some being bog plants that actually prefer to be half in water. Some good basic plants to try would be,
• Elodea (Classic aquatic looking plant)
• Cabomba (Feathery but as above)
• Vallis ( Looks like a reid/grass and can have both spiralled and straight leaves)
• Java fern (easy to keep low light conditions green leaves with hard thin brown stalks to a base root)
• Amazon Sword ( large green leaf’s and soft yellow/white roots)
• Java Moss (Easy filler plant can be bought attached to objects or in clumps)
A quick tip for generally choosing good aquatic plants are if they have roots and they are soft and the plant doesn’t really support itself out of water well then its aquatic. If the roots are hard and the plant if rigid then bit may be a bog plant, be sure to ask the assistant at your aquatic shop. Get a nice covering of plants in your tank as it will help the fish feel safer and bring out the colours in them.
Substrate
The two popular choices at the moment are sand and gravel. Now for the sand you can get both black and “silver” sand to my knowledge. Both need a quick swill out in a bucket to remove any excess debris that will float to the surface, just pour it away. For “silver” san normal children’s play sand can be used as it is inert and will not affect your water. Gravel also needs a thorough clean even if it says it’s pre-washed. Doing small amounts in a sieve/net is the fastest water to go washing out under a tap. About a mug full at a time is a good measure.
Wood/ decorations
The two main types of wood available in aquatic shops are “bogwood” and “mopani” wood. These two types of wood both look really effective in your tank however I would suggest that you soak them in a bucket of water for at least a day and if possible boil them as well as they contain tannins which will discolour your water a yellow/brown colour and soften it (ideal for some fish but not for all). As for general decorations in a fish tank most items found in aquatic shop will be suitable for a freshwater aquarium, however be careful to avoid the marine section materials.
Setup
Right so you’ve now decided on your tank and your decorations and are ready to start filling your new pride and joy up with water, well first you might want to consider what is put into tap water to make it safe for us to drink. Such things as Chlorine, Chloramines and metals (traces) are to just name a few. Now the majority of these chemical additives are quite harmful to the fish and therefore it is recommended that your “de-chlorinate” your water before introducing some fish. A De-Chlorinator will help remove these chemicals and help make your water safe for your fish to live in. they work instantly however it may take some time to circulate round your tank.
Now time to wait, before you can really introduce any fish you should let your tank “cycle”. This is a process of the altering of some harmful chemicals in your tank. It normally takes about a week for a tank to cycle so please leave it fishless until it has. Basically what happens is the ammonia (very harmful to fish and also a product of fish waste) that is already present in your water (and probably a side product of de-chlorination) has to be altered. Essentially it goes like this:
Ammonia (bad) > Filter > Nitrite (bad) > Filter > Nitrates (not quite so bad and removed via water changes)
For a bit more detail please ask an assistant in your LFS (local fish shop).
In order for this cycle to work bacteria in the tank help to change the chemicals into their new form. Thus this cycle can be helped along by adding in a bacterial supplement to your tank about a day after the de-chlorinator was put in. In the week that your fish tank is empty your ammonia will peak then lower then your nitrites will peak then lower then nitrates will peak then lower, when the nitrates are zero your fish tank is ready for a few fish.
The trick to a good and health aquarium is to look after the water quality.
To be continued….hopefully
P.s. if there is anything people feel i've missed out or want to add please let me know.
cheers
Aero
DISCLAIMER: By no means is this the law for fish keeping this is just a guide on how to keep fish based on my experience as a fish keeper and an aquatic store assistant for 6 years.
Right so basically I’ve decided to write a basic fish keeping guide
(rather than do my coursework) this guide will be based upon the keeping of tropical and coldwater freshwater fish.Hopefully What I will try and cover in this guide is:
• An idea about what type of tank to go for and thoughts about setting it up.
• The cycling of the tank (chemically).
• Choosing fish.
• General Maintenance and “cheats”.
Right so you’ve thought “I know I fancy myself some little fishes!” brilliant first let me say it’s a great fun and interesting hobby that lets you really go into it as far as you want to.
HOWEVER FISH ARE STILL PETS AND IF YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO LOOK AFTER THEM PROPERLY THEN PLEASE DON’T BOTHER!
The first few questions you’ve got to ask yourself are, how much can I afford in total? What size tank can I fit in my house? What type of fish do I want?
As with any type purchase you have to decide on how much you have to spend, this is entirely individual so I can’t really be specific here, however I will mention that generally tanks that come in kits (I.E. filters/lighting/heater included) will in general be cheaper than setting one up yourself and buying the bits separately, but the parts in the kits might not be brilliant, e.g. Juwel tanks are well known for the light units going as it’s a sealed unit however am yet to experience any of the new T5 “High-lite” units blowing.
A decision on what type of fish you desire to keep would also be helpful, the best way is to go look around a fish shop and see what fish you like. There has long been a myth that tropical fish are harder to keep than coldwater, it’s an old wives tale to be honest if anything I would personally say tropical are easier than cold water. Equipment wise:
• A tropical tank will require a filter, heater and light.
• A cold water tank will require a filter and light.
But remember it’s your tank get what you want.
Tanks
Ok so you’ve seen a tank you like the look of, great! However first find out what it comes with if anything. Does it have lighting/ a heater /filter?
Some good brands to look for are:
• Juwel
• Rena
• Aqua One
• Fluval
Now these four manufacturers all tend to make kit tanks, that come will pretty much all the equipment you will need to start up an aquarium. Lots of variety and styles of tanks out there these are just some good well known brands. Also as a side note try not to position your tank in direct sunlight as this will turn your water green will algae. The majority of the heaters round these days are all pretty good and for most tropical tanks a temperature of around 25 degrees Celsius is suitable. Filters come in a variety of shapes and sizes ranging from small air powered filters to externals. Air powered filters (under-gravel and sponges) tend to be for smaller tanks and are a good way of filtering a spawning tank however a power filter (i.e. pump containing sponges) either internal or external is probably easier for a beginner to maintain. Lighting generally comes in about 3 forms you have T8 bulbs (standard 1” diameter bulbs) T5 bulbs (half an inch diameter) and PLS bulbs (pins at one end) all have their advantages and disadvantages and can come in different spectrums to give different effects on your tank but I’m not going to go into that right now.
Plants
With regards to decoration this is again individual taste, personally I feel the natural look (i.e. like plants + rock and wood) looks the best. However if plastic plants are your thing then go ahead but be aware that they won’t absorb some excess nutrients in the water as live ones will. Most aquatic shops will stock a reasonable supply of aquatic plants but do be careful as to which ones you choose as they aren’t always “true aquatic” plants, some being bog plants that actually prefer to be half in water. Some good basic plants to try would be,
• Elodea (Classic aquatic looking plant)
• Cabomba (Feathery but as above)
• Vallis ( Looks like a reid/grass and can have both spiralled and straight leaves)
• Java fern (easy to keep low light conditions green leaves with hard thin brown stalks to a base root)
• Amazon Sword ( large green leaf’s and soft yellow/white roots)
• Java Moss (Easy filler plant can be bought attached to objects or in clumps)
A quick tip for generally choosing good aquatic plants are if they have roots and they are soft and the plant doesn’t really support itself out of water well then its aquatic. If the roots are hard and the plant if rigid then bit may be a bog plant, be sure to ask the assistant at your aquatic shop. Get a nice covering of plants in your tank as it will help the fish feel safer and bring out the colours in them.
Substrate
The two popular choices at the moment are sand and gravel. Now for the sand you can get both black and “silver” sand to my knowledge. Both need a quick swill out in a bucket to remove any excess debris that will float to the surface, just pour it away. For “silver” san normal children’s play sand can be used as it is inert and will not affect your water. Gravel also needs a thorough clean even if it says it’s pre-washed. Doing small amounts in a sieve/net is the fastest water to go washing out under a tap. About a mug full at a time is a good measure.
Wood/ decorations
The two main types of wood available in aquatic shops are “bogwood” and “mopani” wood. These two types of wood both look really effective in your tank however I would suggest that you soak them in a bucket of water for at least a day and if possible boil them as well as they contain tannins which will discolour your water a yellow/brown colour and soften it (ideal for some fish but not for all). As for general decorations in a fish tank most items found in aquatic shop will be suitable for a freshwater aquarium, however be careful to avoid the marine section materials.
Setup
Right so you’ve now decided on your tank and your decorations and are ready to start filling your new pride and joy up with water, well first you might want to consider what is put into tap water to make it safe for us to drink. Such things as Chlorine, Chloramines and metals (traces) are to just name a few. Now the majority of these chemical additives are quite harmful to the fish and therefore it is recommended that your “de-chlorinate” your water before introducing some fish. A De-Chlorinator will help remove these chemicals and help make your water safe for your fish to live in. they work instantly however it may take some time to circulate round your tank.
Now time to wait, before you can really introduce any fish you should let your tank “cycle”. This is a process of the altering of some harmful chemicals in your tank. It normally takes about a week for a tank to cycle so please leave it fishless until it has. Basically what happens is the ammonia (very harmful to fish and also a product of fish waste) that is already present in your water (and probably a side product of de-chlorination) has to be altered. Essentially it goes like this:
Ammonia (bad) > Filter > Nitrite (bad) > Filter > Nitrates (not quite so bad and removed via water changes)
For a bit more detail please ask an assistant in your LFS (local fish shop).
In order for this cycle to work bacteria in the tank help to change the chemicals into their new form. Thus this cycle can be helped along by adding in a bacterial supplement to your tank about a day after the de-chlorinator was put in. In the week that your fish tank is empty your ammonia will peak then lower then your nitrites will peak then lower then nitrates will peak then lower, when the nitrates are zero your fish tank is ready for a few fish.
The trick to a good and health aquarium is to look after the water quality.
To be continued….hopefully
P.s. if there is anything people feel i've missed out or want to add please let me know.
cheers
Aero
. Oh, TTIUWP 
!!
Somewhere near the tank requirements (heat, light, waterchanges every 5 minutes... ) you get the idea 